Open the Sesame review: Artful take on Asian food

Joe Proudman/The Star-LedgerOpen the Sesame owner Petom Kochawattana at his Thai and Japanese restaurant in Springfield.

Just a few steps inside the door hangs a gallery-sized, grainy 1966 black-and-white family photograph; the face of Chef Petom, at age 6, is circled. He’s old enough now to drink, the caption writer notes with whimsy, and to cook dinner for you.

People tell Petom Kochawattana they would recognize him anyway — that he has the same tummy he did as a child. (He says it can’t be helped; he loves to eat.)

Thirteen faces grace this photo: 11 sons and daughters plus mom and dad, each and every one a restaurateur. The parents had a restaurant in Thailand; of the children, some have restaurants in England, some in Manhattan, some in Jersey. Mom’s cooking, says Petom, inspired everyone; many of the recipes are hers. (Petom, by the way, is a shortened version of his actual first name, which is too long to fit on a credit card.)

Kochawattana says that when he was growing up, his family meals were always a peaceful respite — a time to relax, enjoy, heal. He strives to offer that here, at Open the Sesame. Americans, he says, are sometimes too aggressive about their eating.

The restaurant, open more than two years, doesn’t often get noticed, sitting quietly as it does at the corner of an everyday shopping center. It deserves attention.

It has an extensive menu of Thai and Japanese food, plus sushi and sashimi prepared by a chef from Osaka, Japan, with 40 years experience. Kochawattana succeeds in his mission to provide a peaceful, honest, good family meal. The restaurant itself is modern, crisp without being stiff, and warmed by impressive artwork. Service is friendly, though we suffered a gap in translation.

Try the pork chop ($13.95). It’s such a cowboy dinner in American restaurants, but here — marinated overnight in lemongrass, garlic, cilantro and honey — it’s delicate and sweet. The salmon ($15.95), too, is delicate and sweet — not fancy, just good, with a tangled accompaniment of onions and mushrooms in a light ginger sauce.

Surprisingly good are the chicken nuggets ($6.95), looking more like popcorn than nuggets, the chicken marinated in garlic and herbs then coated in panko. These are sweet and light pieces of chicken, served with a homemade sweet chili sauce. (Many pint-sized regulars also order the fried sweet potatoes.)

Our sushi was good, though neither bold nor lively. Aburi sushi ($10.95) isn’t something you see every day on a sushi menu: a lightly seared (fire-roasted) sushi (yellowfin, salmon, etc.) served with a ponzu sauce (made of soy and Japanese vinegar), with radish and vinegar. The menu offers more than two dozen rolls, plus sushi and sashimi platters.

Kochawattana, who also owns Bangkok Kitchen in Caldwell, is a musician and artist; the paintings on the wall are his. Plus he’s developing an instructional cooking website and is also a culinary documentarian, traveling, for example, to Thailand, to film exotic food preparations.

A coconut flan napoleon ($5.95) captures that culinary adventurous spirit. This was one of those worth-the-trip desserts — silky, rich flan with delicate strands of coconut and crisp wonton. A surprise ending to a wholesome, comfortable meal.